Mobile communication device and method for controlling such a mobile communication device

ABSTRACT

A mobile communication device and a method for a mobile communication device, including a multiplicity of modes of operation with different operational functions. The mobile communication device encompasses sensors for determining body-related parameters of the user and/or environmental parameters of the mobile communication device. The mobile communication device includes a selection module for evaluating the body-related parameters of the user and/or the environmental parameters of the mobile communication device, and the mobile communication device includes an operational mode module for adapting the respective mode of operation of the mobile communication device according to the evaluation data for the body-related parameters and/or of the environmental parameters. The mobile communication device can also include a mobile radio device.

The invention relates to a mobile communication device comprising amultiplicity of modes of operation with different operational functions,and a method for controlling the modes of operation, at least oneoperational function being determined through the respective mode ofoperation of the mobile communication device. The invention relates inparticular to such a user-controlled mobile radio device.

In recent years, the number of mobile users of mobile radio networks hasincreased worldwide exponentially, and continues to climb. Mobilecommunication devices thus accompany people in almost all walks of lifeor life situations. It is already possible today in the state of the artfor the user of such mobile receiving devices to create a multiplicityof user profiles and thereby be able to adapt the operational functionsto the current environment in which the user is located at the moment.This is only possible manually, however, and requires a definitionbeforehand by the user of the different modes of operation.

Described in the document DE 196 39 492 is an automatic help activationsystem. Upon the occurrence of defined critical conditions of measuringmodules (such as e.g. for measuring time lapse, pulse, terrestrialaltitude, humidity, force of impact, etc.) a warning is given opticallyor acoustically that an activation of the system is imminent. If thiswarning is not acknowledged within a defined time, then data, such ase.g. geographic location and personal data, are transmitted by mobileradio to a known number, a speech module converting the data into speechsignals.

Described in the document DE 202 14 189 is a system for transmission ofbodily function values of a patient. At least one bodily function valueis measured by a measuring device, the measuring device transmitting ameasuring value-specific piece of information wirelessly to a mobiletransmitting and receiving device. The mobile transmitting and receivingdevice transmits this measuring-value specific information in the formof an electronic message in a mobile radio network.

It is an object of this invention to propose a new mobile communicationdevice and a method for controlling different modes of operation of amobile communication device which do not have the above-mentioneddrawbacks of the state of the art. In particular, a simple and efficientautomated method and such a device should be proposed which allow themode of operation of the mobile communication device to be adaptedautomatically to a changed environment without any help from the user.

This object is achieved according to the present invention in particularthrough the elements of the independent claims. Further advantageousembodiments follow moreover from the dependent claims and from thespecification.

In particular these objects are achieved through the invention in thatthe mobile communication device comprises a multiplicity of modes ofoperation with different operational functions, the mobile communicationdevice encompassing sensors for determining body-related parameters ofthe user and/or environmental parameters of the mobile communicationdevice, the mobile communication device comprises a selection module forevaluating the body-related parameters of the user and/or environmentalparameters of the mobile communication device, and the mobilecommunication device comprises an operational mode module for adaptingthe respective mode of operation of the mobile communication deviceaccording to the evaluation data for the body-related parameters and/orenvironmental parameters. This embodiment variant has the advantage,among others, that the mode of operation of the mobile communicationdevice can be adapted automatically to a changed environment and/orother conditions without any help from the user. Furthermore, by meansof the automatic selection of the mode of operation, in particularmonitoring functions and alarm functions can be triggered orrespectively performed.

In an embodiment variant, the mobile communication device comprises asensor for measuring the cardiac rhythm and/or adrenaline level and/oroxygen content of the blood and/or blood sugar content and/or bodytemperature and/or body position and/or type of movement and/ordirection of movement and/or vocal activity and/or pitch of the voiceand/or brain activity of the user as body-related parameters. Thisembodiment variant has the advantage, among others, that, e.g. in thecase of diabetics, the blood sugar level can be monitored automatically,the ringing tone can be adapted automatically to external conditions(active phase of the user, resting phase of the user), or in generalthat the mode of operation can be adapted to external conditions and/oruser parameters. Further advantages follow from the specific choice ofsensor. Thus, for example, the measurement of the voice activity and/orvoice pitch (louder or raising of the voice) can indicate an emotionalstress situation for the user, in which, for example, unsolicitedpromotional calls or calls from certain numbers or calls in general ormessages of all kinds are not necessarily desirable and/or it canindicate, for instance, an automatic transfer of the calls to ananswering machine. In particular, the brain activity can also be usedfor example, e.g. α/β/γ waves for recognition of active phases (high αactivity) and/or resting phases (γ activity) and/or emergency situations(possibly changed β activity). It is to be pointed out that the numberand/or type of sensors is not limited in any way by the above list, butinstead the scope of protection relates in general to all possiblemeasurement parameters. Said sensors can be installed in the mobilecommunication device, or can be connected to the mobile communicationdevice via a wireless or wired connection.

In another embodiment variant, the mobile communication device comprisesa sensor for measuring the noise level and/or air temperature and/orlight values of the surrounding area of the communication device asenvironmental parameters. This embodiment variant has the sameadvantages, among others, as the preceding embodiment variant. Throughthe combination of body-related and environmental parameters, theselection module can work more finely and more plausibly. In a loudenvironment, for example, a louder ringing tone can be setautomatically, and/or with a decrease in light values in combinationwith the body position, this can be interpreted as sleep or restingphase of the user.

In a further embodiment variant, the mobile communication devicecomprises a mobile radio device. This embodiment variant has theadvantage, among others, that owing to the wide distribution of mobileradio devices and their presence in almost all situations of modernlife, such an embodiment variant can especially make sense.

In a further embodiment variant, the mobile communication devicecomprises a play station. This embodiment variant has the advantage,among others, that owing to the wide distribution of play stations andtheir presence in almost all situations of modern life, such anembodiment variant can especially make sense.

In another embodiment variant, the mobile communication device comprisesan expert module by means of which the selection of the mode ofoperation depending upon body-related parameters of the user and/orenvironmental parameters of the mobile communication device is able tobe carried out in a self-learning way based on pattern recognition. Theexpert module can include e.g. at least one neural network for patternrecognition. This embodiment variant has the advantage, among others,that the automatic selection of the most suitable mode of operation withcertain parameters improves over time in a self-adapting way, without acomplicated programming of the communication devices or the like beingrequired of the user.

In a further embodiment variant, the selection module comprises apredefinable threshold for triggering alarm functions by means of themobile communication device for at least one body-related parameterand/or for at least one environmental parameter. This embodiment varianthas the advantage, among others, that monitoring and alarm functions fora user can be achieved by means of the mobile communication device in anespecially simple and efficient way.

In a further embodiment variant, the sensors, for example pressuresensors, are actuated by the user, the corresponding measuring signalsare recorded as environmental parameters, and the applications runningon the mobile communication device are controlled by the operationalmode module. This embodiment variant has the advantage, among others,that a play station can be achieved by means of the mobile communicationdevice. If, in addition, the adrenaline value of the user is captured bya further sensor, the excitement potential of the game can becorrespondingly controlled for the user to ensure a certainattractiveness and at the same time prevent health risks (for instanceepileptic seizures).

It should be stated here that, in addition to the method according tothe invention, the invention also relates to a device for carrying outthis method. It is not limited furthermore to mobile radio devices, butrelates in general to mobile communication devices of all kinds.

Embodiment variants of the present invention will be described in thefollowing with reference to examples. The examples of the embodimentsare illustrated by the following attached figures:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram representing schematically the mobilecommunication device 11 with a user 10. The body-related parameters ofthe user and/or environmental parameters of the mobile communicationdevice are able to be determined by means of the sensors and/ormeasuring devices 12 to 18.

FIG. 2 likewise shows a block diagram representing schematically themobile communication device 11 with a user 10. The measuring parametersof the sensors and/or measuring devices 12 to 18 can be transmitted viaa communication network 20/21 to a central unit 30, e.g. upon reachingpredefinable threshold values, and be used, for instance, to alert anemergency call service 31 as used by doctors on emergency call or thepolice.

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically an architecture that can be used toachieve the invention. In this embodiment example, the mobilecommunication device comprises a multiplicity of modes of operation withdifferent operational functions. In FIG. 1 the reference numeral 11relates to such a mobile communication device or a so-called mobile nodehaving the necessary infrastructure, including hardware and softwarecomponents, to achieve a described method and/or system according to theinvention. Understood by mobile communication device 11 are, among otherthings, all possible so-called Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) whichare designed for use at various network locations and/or in variousnetworks. In particular, the mobile communication device can be, forinstance, a mobile radio device, a laptop, a PDA or a play station. Themobile communication device 11 possesses one or more different physicalnetwork interfaces, which can also support a multiplicity of differentnetwork standards. The physical network interfaces of the mobilecommunication device can comprise e.g. interfaces to Ethernet or anotherwired LAN (Local Area Network), Bluetooth, GSM (Global System for MobileCommunication), GPRS (Generalized Packet Radio Service), USSD(Unstructured Supplementary Services Data), UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System) and/or WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network).The communication networks 20/21 comprise, for example, a mobile radionetwork, such as a terrestrial mobile radio network, e.g. a GSM or UMTSnetwork, or a satellite-based mobile radio network, and/or one or morefixed networks, for example the public switched telephone network, theworldwide packet-oriented IP backbone network or a suitable LAN (LocalArea Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network). As already mentioned in part,the communication over the mobile radio network 20/21 can take place,for example, by means of special short messages, e.g. SMS (Short MessageServices), MMS (Multimedia Message Services), EMS (Enhanced MessageServices), via a signalling channel, such as e.g. USSD (UnstructuredSupplementary Services Data) or other technologies, such as MExE (MobileExecution Environment), GPRS (Generalized Packet Radio Service), WAP(Wireless Application Protocol) or UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System), or a user service channel. The operationalfunctions can comprise e.g. ringing tone, ringing volume, vibrationstrength, light signals, display of logos and pictures on the display ofthe mobile communication device, e.g. in the case of incoming callsand/or alarm functions such as e.g. calendar alarm functions. Thedetermination of the values of the individual operational functions formin their entirety a particular mode of operation. The mobilecommunication device 11 comprises sensors and/or measuring devices 12, .. . , 18 for determining body-related parameters of the user and/orenvironmental parameters of the mobile communication device. The sensorscan comprise e.g. a sensor for measuring the heart rhythm of the user,for measuring the blood pressure of the user, for measuring theadrenaline level of the user, for measuring the oxygen content of theblood of the user, for measuring the position of the body of the user,for measuring the type of movement and/or the direction of movement ofthe user, for measuring the voice activity of the user, as body-relatedparameters, and/or for measuring the noise level of the environment, theair pressure of the environment and/or for detecting atomic, biologicalor chemical elements of the environment and/or for detecting the time ofday. The sensors 12, . . . , 18 can also comprise, however, e.g. a GPSmodule (Global Positioning Module) for determining the absolute positionof the communication device 11. The sensors and/or detectors can capturemeasurement values directly or indirectly. For example, a temperaturesensor in the housing of the mobile communication device can capture thetemperature of the housing and thus, indirectly, also the temperature ofthe environment. Each measurement parameter can influence the mode ofoperation. When, for instance, the body position of the user 10 ismeasured, the mobile communication device is able to switch overautomatically to a soundless mode of operation when the position of thebody of the user 10 is horizontal (lying, sleeping, resting). Thesensors 12, . . . , 18 can be put e.g. directly on the user 16, . . . ,18, for measuring the body temperature, the pulse, for example, or canbe integrated 12, . . . , 15 in the mobile communication device 11. Ifthey are put directly on the user, they can transmit the roughmeasurement signals and/or processed measurement data wirelessly or viacable connection to the mobile communication device 11. The same appliesfor the environmental parameters. The mobile communication device 11further comprises, i.e. contains, or is connected to, a selection modulefor evaluation of the body-related parameters of the user and/orenvironmental parameters of the mobile communication device. If one ormore of the body-related parameters of the user and/or environmentalparameters change, the mode of operation of the mobile communicationdevice will be adapted to the changed conditions (sleeping, driving) bymeans of an operational mode module. The selection module and theoperational mode module may be achieved through software and/or hardwarein the mobile communication device. The selection module and theoperational mode module can be correspondingly implemented in thecommunication device, or connected to the communication device via awireless or wired communication interface, for example via acommunication network 20, 21.

FIG. 2 likewise illustrates schematically an architecture that can beused to achieve the invention. In this embodiment example, for at leastone body-related parameter and/or environmental parameter, the selectionmodule of the mobile communication device further comprises apredefinable threshold value for automatic triggering of alarmfunctions. Mentioned here as a possible example are sensors formeasuring the blood sugar level, e.g. for diabetics and/or athletes. Ifthe blood sugar level sinks below a predetermined threshold, or if itrises above a predetermined threshold, then an alarm mode of the mobilecommunication unit is automatically triggered. In the alarm mode, anemergency call service such as e.g. the emergency call service forphysicians or the police can be alerted. The alert can also include inparticular position indications for the mobile communication device 11as well as body-related parameters for the user 10. This can take place,for example, via the mentioned networks 20/21. The emergency callservice 31 can be thereby alerted, for example directly by the mobilecommunication device 11, or the evaluation data can be transmitted to acentral unit 30, which can then activate e.g. further monitoringfunctions in the mobile communication device 11 (such as e.g. locationmonitoring by means of the GPS module), can undertake a directmonitoring of the user 10 via the mobile communication device 11 and/orcan fulfil alarm functions on its own.

It is important to point out that, as an embodiment example, the mobilecommunication device can further comprise an expert module, by means ofwhich the selection of the operating mode by the user depending upon thebody-related parameters of the user 10 and/or environmental parametersfor the mobile communication device 11 is automatically learnable basedon pattern recognition, e.g. patterns of the user behavior. The softwarefor the expert module can be achieved as applet, and can be transmittedvia the communication network to the mobile communication device. Theexpert module for pattern recognition can comprise e.g. at least oneneural network. Conventional static and/or dynamic neural networks maybe chosen, for example, as neural networks, such as e.g. feed-forward(heteroassociative) networks, such as a perceptron or a multi-layerperceptron (MLP), but also other network structures are conceivable,such as e.g. recurrent network structures. The differing networkstructure of the feed-forward networks in contrast to networks withfeedback (recurrent networks) determines the way in which information isprocessed by the network. In the case of a static neural network, thestructure is supposed to ensure the replication of static characteristicfields with sufficient approximation quality. The neural networks can beachieved in the expert module through software or hardware. For thisembodiment example, a multilayer perceptron may be chosen as an example.An MLP consists of a number of neuron layers having at least one inputlayer and one output layer. The structure is directed strictly forward,and belongs to the group of feed-forward networks. Neural networks quitegenerally map an m-dimensional input signal onto an n-dimensional outputsignal. The information to be processed is, in the feed-forward networkconsidered here, received by a layer having input neurons, the inputlayer. The input neurons process the input signals, and forward them viaweighted connections, so-called synapses, to one or more hidden neuronlayers, the hidden layers. From the hidden layers, the signal istransmitted, likewise by means of weighted synapses, to neurons of anoutput layer which, in turn, generates the output signal of the neuralnetwork. In a forward directed, completely connected MLP, each neuron ofa certain layer is connected to all neurons of the following layer. Thechoice of the number of layers and neurons (network nodes) in aparticular layer is, as usual, to be adapted to the respective problem,here e.g. to, among other things, the number of body-related parametersand/or environmental parameters and/or modes of operation. The simplestpossibility is to find out the ideal network structure empirically. Inso doing, it is to be heeded that if the number of neurons chosen is toolarge, the network, instead of learning, works purely image-forming,while with too small a number of neurons it comes to correlations of themapped parameters. Expressed differently, the fact is that if the numberof neurons chosen is too small, the function can possibly not berepresented. However, upon increasing the number of hidden neurons, thenumber of independent variables in the error function also increases.This leads to more local minima and to the greater probability oflanding in precisely one of these minima. In the special case of backpropagation, this problem can be at least minimized, e.g. by means ofsimulated annealing. In simulated annealing, a probability is assignedto the states of the network. In analogy to the cooling of liquidmaterial from which crystals are produced, a high initial temperature Tis chosen. This is gradually reduced, the lower the slower. In analogyto the formation of crystals from liquid, it is assumed that if thematerial is allowed to cool too quickly, the molecules do not arrangethemselves according to the grid structure. The crystal becomes impureand unstable at the locations affected. In order to prevent this, thematerial is allowed to cool down so slowly that the molecules still haveenough energy to jump out of a local minimum. In the case of neuralnetworks, nothing different is done: additionally, the magnitude T isintroduced in a slightly modified error function. In the ideal case,this then converges toward a global minimum. For the application withthe user-controlled mobile communication device, in the case of MLP,neural networks having an at least three-layered structure have proveduseful. That means that the networks comprise at least one input layer,a hidden layer, and an output layer. The neural networks of the expertmodule can now be trained continuously or periodically according to theoperational mode selection of the user 10. By means of possiblecorrections of the user 10, the adaptation of the modes of operationthus constantly improves over time, using the selection module, based onthe body-related parameters and/or environmental parameters. Thus theuser 10 is not always sleeping, for instance, when the sensor registersa horizontal body position for the user 10. If the user is lying down inthe bedroom, for example, it is highly probable that he is resting,making a soundless mode of operation expedient, whereas he will prefer alouder-than-normal mode of operation sitting in the TV chair, forexample, or on the lawn at the swimming pool, although his body positionthere can also be horizontal. The expert module can learn to select herethe correct mode of operation in an adaptive way, even in such complexcontexts, e.g. from the data of the sensor for the body position, thepulse data and/or the data of the GPS module.

1-18. (canceled)
 19. A mobile communication device, including amultiplicity of modes of operation with different operational functions,body-related parameters of a user and/or environmental parameters of themobile communication device being able to be captured by the mobilecommunication device by sensors and/or measuring devices, the mobilecommunication device comprising: a selection module configured toevaluate the body-related parameters of the user and/or environmentalparameters of the mobile communication device; and an operational modemodule configured to adapt a respective mode of operation of the mobilecommunication device according to evaluation data for the body-relatedparameters and/or environmental parameters.
 20. The mobile communicationdevice according to claim 19, wherein a body-related parameter of theuser that is able to be captured by the mobile communication device bysensors includes a cardiac rhythm and/or an adrenaline level and/or anoxygen content of blood and/or a blood sugar content and/or a bodyposition and/or a brain activity and/or a type of movement and/or adirection of movement and/or a vocal activity and/or a pitch of thevoice of the user as body-related parameter.
 21. The mobilecommunication device according to claim 19, wherein an environmentalparameter for the environment of the mobile communication device that isable to be captured by the mobile communication device by sensorsincludes a noise level and/or an air temperature and/or a light valuefor the surrounding area of the communication device.
 22. The mobilecommunication device according to claim 19, wherein the mobilecommunication device further comprises a mobile radio device connectibleto a communication network.
 23. The mobile communication deviceaccording to claim 19, wherein the mobile communication device furthercomprises a play station connectible to a communication network.
 24. Themobile communication device according to claim 19, wherein the mobilecommunication device further comprises an expert module, by whichselection of the mode of operation by the user based on patternrecognition in dependence upon the body-related parameters of the userand/or environmental parameters for the mobile communication device istrainable.
 25. The mobile communication device according to claim 24,wherein the expert module comprises at least one neural network forpattern recognition.
 26. The mobile communication device according toclaim 19, wherein the selection module comprises a predefinablethreshold for triggering alarm functions by the mobile communicationdevice for at least one body-related parameter and/or for at least oneenvironmental parameter.
 27. The mobile communication device accordingto claim 19, wherein the mobile communication device comprises at leastone sensor configured to be actuated by the user.
 28. A method forcontrolling different modes of operation of a mobile communicationdevice, different operational functions being controlled throughrespective modes of operation of the mobile communication device, andbody-related parameters of the user and/or environmental parameters ofthe mobile communication device being captured by the mobilecommunication device by sensors, the method comprising: evaluatingdetermined body-related parameters of the user and/or environmentalparameters of the mobile communication device by a selection module; andadapting by an operational mode module respective modes of operation ofthe mobile communication device based on evaluation data for thebody-related parameters and/or for the environmental parameters.
 29. Themethod for controlling different modes of operation of a mobilecommunication device according to claim 28, wherein heart rhythm and/orblood pressure and/or adrenaline level and/or oxygen content of bloodand/or blood sugar content and/or body position and/or brain activityand/or type of movement and/or direction of movement and/or voiceactivity and/or pitch of the voice of a user is captured as thebody-related parameters by the mobile communication device by at leastone sensor.
 30. The method for controlling different modes of operationof a mobile communication device according to claim 28, wherein noiselevel and/or air temperature and/or light values of surrounding area iscaptured as the environmental parameters by the mobile communicationdevice by at least one sensor.
 31. The method for controlling differentmodes of operation of a mobile communication device according to claim28, wherein a mobile radio device connectible to a communication networkis used as the mobile communication device.
 32. The method forcontrolling different modes of operation of a mobile communicationdevice claim 28, wherein a play station connectible to a communicationnetwork is used as the mobile communication device.
 33. The method forcontrolling different modes of operation of a mobile communicationdevice according to claim 28, wherein an expert module is trained bypattern recognition based on selection of the mode of operation by theuser in dependence upon the body-related parameters of the user and/orenvironmental parameters of the mobile communication device, and is usedfor control of the selection of the modes of operation.
 34. The methodfor controlling different modes of operation of a mobile communicationdevice according to claim 33, wherein the expert module trains thepattern recognition using at least one neural network.
 35. The methodfor controlling different modes of operation of a mobile communicationdevice according to claim 28, wherein at least one threshold value isdefined for one or more body-related parameters and/or for one or moreenvironmental parameters, whereby upon reaching the threshold value, analarm function is triggered by the selection module.
 36. The method forcontrolling different modes of operation of a mobile communicationdevice according to claim 28, wherein at least one sensor is actuated bya user.